CSi Weather…

.TONIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s. Southwest winds around 5 mph.

.THURSDAY…Partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms in the Jamestown area, 70 percent in the Valley City area. Highs in the mid 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

.THURSDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. A 20 percent chance of rain

showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Lows in the mid 50s.

West winds around 5 mph.

.FRIDAY…Increasing clouds. Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest

winds 5 to 10 mph.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Decreasing clouds. A 20 percent chance of rain

showers and thunderstorms in the Jamestown area, 30 percent in the Valley City area. Lows in the upper 50s.

.SATURDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain

showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 50s.

.SUNDAY…Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.

.MONDAY…Sunny. Highs around 80.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and

thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the lower 60s.

.TUESDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.

There is a chance for thunderstorms across western and central
North Dakota Wednesday night. Severe weather is not anticipated.

A few of the storms across the south may become strong
to severe on Thursday, mainly along and south of Interstate 94.

Showers and thunderstorms push eastward Thursday night into Friday

morning. A few stronger storms to form during this period; however,

severe storms are not anticipated.

Friday is expected to be mostly quiet through the early afternoon with increasing precipitation into the evening, and overnight hours.

Saturday morning, more precipitation back into the forecast.

Scattered showers remain in the forecast Sunday morning with quiet

weather expected for the remainder of the day.

 

Update…

Jamestown  (CSi) Gov. Doug Burgum Wednesday kicked off the third annual Governor’s Summit on Innovative Education, a two-day event focused on sharing best practices and addressing behavioral health challenges in the classroom.

More than 500 people registered to attend the free public summit at Jamestown High School, including teachers, administrators, legislators, behavioral health professionals, parents and students.

Burgum said, “North Dakota continues to make tremendous progress in implementing and sharing innovative education practices as we build on the momentum of the previous two summits, the recommendations of the Innovative Education Task Force and related legislation.  Highlighting the 2019 Legislature’s passage of SB 2215, which creates a K-12 Education Coordinating Council. Applications for the council are now being accepted through the governor’s website at www.governor.nd.gov/boards/.

He added, ”This year’s summit also shines a spotlight on the significant challenges posed by behavioral health issues in the classroom.  He added, “By sharing best practices and learning from one another, we can tackle these challenges, identify new opportunities to improve student outcomes and become a national leader in education.”

The second day of the summit will focus on behavioral health in an educational setting. Among the featured speakers will be Dr. Stuart Ablon, director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor and Thomas G. Stemberg Endowed Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who will address the topic of school discipline.

 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler said,  “The Governor’s Summit on Innovative Education helps to showcase the successes that we have in North Dakota public education, and how we are striving to improve it for our students and families. This involves listening to the voices of our students, our families, our educators and our taxpayers as we move forward. I am also grateful for the Summit’s focus on behavioral health issues in our schools, which our educators have identified as something that needs to be addressed urgently.”

For the second consecutive year, #InnovativeND Awards also were presented during the summit to recognize outstanding work being done by North Dakota educators to prepare students for success in a global economy being driven by rapid technological change. The recipients are:

  • Classroom Leadership Award: Marie Snyder of Devils Lake Public Schools, and fellow teachers John McLaurin and Kristine Bommersbach, for incorporating real-world learning applications that take advantage of North Dakota’s great outdoors.
  • Student Leadership Award: Natasha Willardson, a junior at Williston Public Schools, for her work in STEM education including robotics and programming, and for her leadership in her school’s Girls Go Cyberstart team during the national competition.
  • Building Leadership Award: New Town Middle School Teaching Team led by Principal Kara Four Bear, for redesigning the educational experience, integrating technology and engaging their community, including implementing a National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center curriculum.
  • District Leadership Award: Dale Hoerauf, CTE director with Bismarck Public Schools and Bismarck Career Academy, for his key role in leading his district and the state in career and technical education, introducing students and the community to the ever-increasing range of career opportunities and preparing the next generation for success in the 21st century workforce.

Burgum expressed his gratitude for the summit’s partners – the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, North Dakota Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Division, North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders, ND United and North Dakota School Boards Association – and its sponsor, the Bush Foundation.

The summit in Jamestown continues through Thursday with a focus on behavioral health. Registration is free and attendees can register on-site at Jamestown High School.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The next  Jamestown Arts Market will be on Thursday August 15, from 5:30-p.m., to 8:30-p.m., at the Hansen Arts Park, downtown.

Entertainment includes, The Kicks Band that was founded in 1975 by Edward Christianson for musicians to enjoy music socializing and playing great big band literature and to improvise jazz. The band got together just for “Kicks.” Christianson made it a priority to provide all band members with opportunities to improvise and to feel musically satisfied.

Also performing are Bernie & the Other Guys, which includes Bernie Madsoe on guitar and vocals, Rodney Brandt on bass and vocals and John Crowston on mandolin and vocals. The group formed about four years ago, playing at open mics, church services and other events. Their music includes country, folk, bluegrass, light rock and gospel.

Admission to the Downtown Arts Market is free. Bernie & the Other Guys are scheduled to begin performing at 5:30 p.m., with the Kicks Band performing starting at 6:30 p.m. Artisan vendors and arts activities are also expected.

 

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota State Fair officials have decided against holding a tobacco-free day at next year’s event.

The state Health Department and Bismarck tobacco prevention coalition had asked the fair board to designate Family-Military Day as smoke free at the 2020 event.

Fair Board President Gary Knell says it would be difficult to make a fairgrounds ban work. The board decided to continue following state guidelines regarding tobacco in public places. State law prohibits smoking in enclosed public spaces, within 20 feet of doors, windows or ventilation systems of public buildings.

The Minot Daily News reports Knell says even though the board denied a tobacco-free day, advocacy groups could set up booths at the fair to encourage people to go tobacco-free on the grounds.

 

In sports…

Jamestown  (CSi)  The four team North Dakota Class AAA Amateur Baseball State Tournament will be at Jack Brown Stadium in Jamestown  August  17-18.

North Dakota Amateur Baseball Association

Aug. 17

Game 1: Jamestown Elks vs. Mayville Red Caps, 11 a.m.

Game 2: Jamestown Tarnos vs. Jamestown Merchants, 1 p.m.

Game 3: Loser Game1 vs. Loser Game 2 (loser out), 3 p.m.

Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m.

Aug. 18

Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (loser out), noon.

Championship: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 2 p.m.

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting director of Citizenship and Immigration Services says the inscription on the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants into the country is about “people coming from Europe.”

Ken Cuccinelli (koo-chih-NEHL’-ee) said Tuesday on CNN that the poem referred to Europeans coming from “class-based societies where people were considered wretched if they weren’t in the right class.”

His comment came a day after the Trump administration announced it would seek to deny green cards to migrants who use public assistance.

Cuccinelli was asked earlier Tuesday on NPR whether the words “give me your tired, your poor” were part of the American ethos. Cuccinelli responded: “They certainly are. Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.”

 

 

NEW YORK (AP) — A Justice Department official says more than half of the staff in the Metropolitan Correctional Center at the time Jeffrey Epstein killed himself was working overtime.

The official said 18 staff members working in the jail, and 10 were them on overtime. There was one additional post that wasn’t filled during that shift, which ran from midnight until 8 a.m.

Two guards who were supposed to be watching Epstein were placed on leave Tuesday. The official said one had worked overtime shifts a number of days in a row and the other guard was on mandatory overtime, working a double.

The official was not authorized to disclose the information publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

 

 

MILAN (AP) — Two Spanish sopranos have come out in defense of tenor Placido Domingo following an Associated Press story in which numerous women accused the opera legend of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior spanning decades.

Spain’s Europa Press news agency on Wednesday quoted Spanish soprano Davinia Rodriguez as saying she “never felt the least indication of what they accuse the maestro of.

She says Domingo always “has shown me, and each and every one of my colleagues and theater workers, from the most senior position to the least, the maximum of his respect, with the humbleness and generosity that characterizes him.”

Fellow Spanish soprano Pilar Jurado expressed similar thoughts. She says “it’s complicated because I don’t know what other people have experienced.” But she adds “what I can say is that his relationship with me has been that of a perfect gentleman.”

 

 

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police have fired tear gas at a group of pro-democracy protesters rallying outside a police station in a crowded urban neighborhood.

The protesters had gathered to burn “hell money” and incense as a way to show their opposition to the police during the month-long Hungry Ghost Festival, when offerings are made to ward off spirits of ancestors.

Police armed with riot shields and batons marched down streets in the blue-collar Sham Shui Po neighborhood. Officers carried warning flags and fired tear gas as they advanced, but protesters had already scrambled away.

Last week, the district was the scene of a protest against police after they arrested a university student leader for buying laser pointers, which police said were being used as a weapon against them.

 

 

HOUSTON (AP) — Recent immigration raids at Mississippi chicken-processing plants revived a longstanding complaint about government policy: Unauthorized workers are jailed or deported, while the managers and business owners who profit from their labor often go unprosecuted.

Under President Donald Trump, the number of owners and managers facing criminal charges for employing unauthorized workers has stayed almost the same as almost every other enforcement measure has surged.

Last week’s raids were the largest worksite operation conducted under the Trump administration. The raids led to 680 arrests of people in the U.S. illegally. Criminal charges are expected to follow for some. But no plant owners or top managers were immediately charged. That’s been the pattern of other recent raids.

Investigating managers takes longer and is far more difficult than arresting workers.

 

 

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts and deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein are among the defendants facing sex abuse lawsuits in New York state as the state moves to allow molestation lawsuits that had been blocked by the statute of limitations.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were expected to sue Wednesday, the first day of the one-year window for older molestation cases.

A woman who says she was raped by Epstein as a teenager in 2002 is suing his estate and three of his associates.

State lawmakers extended the statute of limitations this year for new victims and gave those with older abuse claims one year to sue their abusers or institutions or businesses that employed them.

New York’s old statute of limitations was among America’s most restrictive.